


Life in New York

by idraax



Series: The Long Road [1]
Category: The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Ensemble - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-06 09:34:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 8,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1105238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idraax/pseuds/idraax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter Parker and Bruce Banner keep running into each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is very, very AU. As usual this is unedited and is a collection of scenes.

The first time Peter Parker met Bruce Banner was after he had already met the Hulk. He was in the library studying for his Spanish exam when a tired look man in a lab coat cleared his throat above him.

"Er...can I sit here?"

Peter looked around the room. All the other tables were full of tired students with books in various positions. "Sure" he said and went back to mumbling verbs under his breath.

"Thanks" the man said, sitting down and opening his bag. He took out a battered laptop and turned it on. "Wow" Peter said "what happened to it?"

The man shrugged. "Travel"

"Okkay then" Peter groaned and thumped his head onto the book. "There's too many of these." He sat up, rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"Need any help?" The man looked up from his screen and frowned at the look on Peter's face. "Exams?" He asked sympathetically.

"Yeah" Peter groaned. "I have this Spanish test tomorrow and none of my friends took Spanish..."

The man bit his lip and lowered the laptop screen. "Um...I could help you if you want. I spent a good chunk of time in Tierra del Fuego, so I know a decent amount of Spanish."

"Sure that's be great." He stuck his hand out. "Er..I'm Peter."

The man shut the laptop screen and shook his hand. "Bruce"

 

 

 

 


	2. Second Meeting

The second time they met was at a small cafe outside of the A tower as the locals called it. Peter had spilled his coffee over Bruce who had merely smiled and licked it off his fingers.

"It's been a while since I had coffee."

Peter blinked at him. "Um, ok. Er...can I buy you a cup, since I ran into you?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, thanks. It's bad for my...heart....um...I have a condition."

Peter could almost see the quotes surrounding that word. "But, you just..."

Bruce dabbed a napkin over his shirt. Purple and no labcoat this time. "Oh, no, this much is ok. I miss the taste. Here, let me buy you another cup."

"Sure!" Peter winced. _'Really, Peter, really? Could you be anymore enthusiastic?'_ "Er...I mean, that would be great, thanks."

Bruce laughed. "It's ok. I remember when I was a student. I was broke."

"Yeah" Peter rubbed the back of his head.

"How did the Spanish test go," Bruce asked as they were standing in line.

Peter blinked. "Dude! I can't believe you remember that. That was last month!"

They placed their orders and walked over to one of the tables closest to the tower.

"It was the only interesting thing to happen that month" Bruce said as they were sitting down.

Peter stared. "Seriously? What do even do?"

"Run DNA sequences mostly."

"I'm sorry, _how_ is that boring?"

"It's mostly letting the computer do the work." Bruce tapped his fingers on the table. It was quite rhythmic.

'Wait'"Are you tapping Fibonachi numbers?" Peter gaped at him.

Bruce stopped and fiddled with his hands. "Sorry, it's a habbit of mine."

"That's awesome! I think about the biology of spiders whenever I'm bored." The waitress arrived with their drinks. Peter took his, took a sip and sputtered. "This is really bitter."

Bruce sipped at his tea. "The more bitter it is, the stronger. This cafe's next to the tower, I'm not suprised. So, you never answered my question."

Peter snapped his fingers. "Oh! Right, the test. Thank you so much for your help! I got an A. I used some of the stuff you told me about your work in the essay, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." Bruce took another sip of his tea and hid a smile behind the cup. 

* * *

 


	3. Spiderman and Hulk

The next time, Spiderman met Hulk. Doombots had attacked the city again and he and the team had gone out to stop them. 

"Bug man not smashing?" Hulk rumbled at him.

Spiderman shrugged. "I drew the short straw today Hulk. I'm stuck with clean up. And don't call me bug man. Spiders aren't bugs." He shot a doombot with a strand of webbing. It had gotten too close. Hulk punched another one and frowned at him.

"Bug man sound better." He said.

"Than what?" Spiderman ducked as a doombot when flying above him.

"Arachnid man"

Spiderman gaped at him. "That's...that's...can't you call me Spiderman like everybody else?"

"Hulk not everybody else" he grunted and lifted up a car. "Duck"

Spiderman ducked and the car went flying past him into a large cluster of doombots.

"Any idea how to stop these guys?" He webbed a cluster of them to the ground.

"Smash"

"Yeah, but they keep getting up." He shot a strand of webbing past Hulk and swung up to the nearest, tallest rooftop. "There's more of 'em coming" he called.

Hulk furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin with his left hand. "EMP" he said slowly.

Spiderman nearly fell of the rooftop in shock. "That's brilliant!"

"Won't work" White Tiger vaulted up from the fire escape. "Doom made his robots impervious to all EMPs. Don't you read the stuff Coulson gives us?"

"Who has time for that?"

White Tiger groaned. 

* * *


	4. Conversation number 3

"So, that's why I think the Hulk is smarter than anyone gives him for." Peter slammed his hands down on the table nearly upsetting their drinks. Bruce just smiled at him.

"I never said he wasn't" he said mildly.

Peter blinked. "Sorry, it's just...everyone thinks he's a monster you know?" _'I know how that feels.'_

Bruce took a sip of his tea. "They're just scared. He _is_ big and green."

Peter snorted. "Still...I bet he's a _real_ softy once you get to know him."

Bruce hid a smirk behind his cup.

Peter tapped the lid of his cup. "So, Doctor B, what's up with you?"

Bruce nearly choked on his cup. "Doctor B?"

Peter grinned. "It sounds cool. You were wearing a labcoat when I first met you. And your first name starts with a B."

Bruce snickered. "It does" he agreed. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about my work. Most of it is highly classified."

Peter pouted. "Aww, not even a little bit?"

Bruce shrugged. "I work with human cells" he said after a pause.

Peter thumped his head on the table. "Could you _be_ anymore vauge?"

There was a long silence as they both sipped at their respective cups.

"How's Spanish going?"

Peter laughed. "I keep imagining Spiderman in a sombero, strumming a gituar and singing."

Bruce gave him a blank look. "So...not well?"

"Not at all."

Peter lifted his head off the table and leaned back in his chair. He watched the clouds for a few moments before asking quietly, "What do you think of him?"

"Think of who?"

"Spiderman"

Bruce closed his eyes and took another sip of his tea. "I've never met him, so I can't really say....but, I think he's trying his best. He's misunderstood," and now there was something sad about him, "like the Hulk."

_'True that.'_

There was another pause, shorter as it was broken by a sonic boom from far above them.

"Was that Iron Man?"

Bruce nodded. "And that's my cue to head back to work." He rose from the chair and picked up his cup. "It was nice running into you again."

Around them, paper began to rustle and rise into the air. There was a whooshing sound and Iron Man landed in front of them.

"Bruce" he said, raising the faceplate. "Imagine my suprise when Jarvis said you had left the tower. Candyland not attractive anymore?"

Bruce smiled. "I needed some air."

"Whoa" Peter muttered next to him. His eyes darted everywhere before he turned to face Bruce. "You know Iron Man?"

Bruce grinned. "I work with him."

Tony cleared his throat. "Who's the kid?"

"Tony, this is Peter, the kid that I keep running into every so often."

"The one you helped with the Spanish test?"

Peter threw up his hands. "Seriously? _That's_ how you remember me?"

"You remembered me as Labcoat guy, the second time we ran into each other." Bruce said, deadpan. Again, Peter could swear he could see the quotes.

 _'How does he do that?'_ His phone rang and he set his cup down before taking it out of his jacket pocket. It was Harry. _'Shit'_

"I'm sorry, I gotta go. I'm late for a-a thing. It was nice meeting you and I hope I run into you again" he said as he grabbed his bag and dashed off. 

"Peter wait! You....forgot your cup!"

He turned, grabbed the cup and gave Bruce a sheepish smile. "Thanks."

* * *


	5. Spiderman and Bruce

This time it was Bruce who ran into Spiderman. They collided as Spiderman was swimging downwards onto the street. Bruce's papers went flying everywhere and he hopped around trying to grab them.

"Sorry dude" Spiderman said, grabbing the papers with his webs. He cleared the webbing and looked at the papers. The language seemed familiar. "Is this Spanish?"

Bruce stuck a hand in his hair and laughed. "Yes. Everytime I run into someone it always seems to have something to do with Spanish."

"Me too man, me too." Spiderman said sympathetically. "So," he said, hopping onto the wall and handing the papers back, "what'cha working on Dr. B?"

Bruce frowned at him. "You know you're the second person ever to call me that..."

 _'Shit'_ "Er...it's on your nametag!" He said, pointing at the little plastic card attatched to Bruce's labcoat. He leaned over to get a closer look. "Dr. Bruce Banner, huh...Dr B-B? Ugh, no...that sounds terrible. Dr. B it is!"

Bruce chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to know someone named Peter would you?"

"Peter? Oh yeah, he sits beside me in Spanish class. Bit of a weird kid that one." _'Oh, god, what are you saying Peter!'_ "A-anyway," he said, checking his nonexistent watch, "I gotta run. I'll tell him you said hi. Bye Dr.B!"

Quickly, he fired a strand of spiderweb at the furthest building and swung away. 

"Ah, wait! My papers!" It was too late, Spiderman was gone. Bruce sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Tony was right, I should give up on paper."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would be longer, but Peter decided he wanted to be awkward. Perhaps I should have named this Spanish and other conversations...


	6. Interlude: Bruce and Tony

A few days later, Bruce came into his lab to find Tony there, holding a stack of papers tied together with red and blue ribbon. Tony handed him the stack.

"Any reason why Pepper found this in her office?"

"What?" Bruce took the stack. Upon closer inspection, the ribbon was covered in tiny black spiders. _'Where did he even get the ribbon?'_

"It was stuck to the desk with webbing." Tony added, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is there something I should know?"

"Oh, um...I bumped into Spiderman the other day and lost the paper I was reading. I suppose this was his way of returning it."

Tony gasped and covered the arc reactor with one hand. "Bruce!" He put on his best scandalized sounding voice. "You actually _left_ the tower? _Three_ times in a month? This is progress! We should celebrate!"

Bruce smiled a little and moved past him. "I _do_ leave the tower occasionaly Tony. It's not that big of a deal." He said as he pulled up the screens of his latest project.

"It's still progress though" Tony said as he left the lab. "I'm going to celebrate it, even if you're not. Tell you what, I'll build you something nice. How does a centrifuge sound?"

"I already have a centrifuge Tony. It's not necessary." Bruce yelled after him, shaking his head. He chuckeled a little to himself and set the stack down on the table. He pulled he ribbon free and picked up the topmost page.

It read:

_To whoever reads this, Please return this stack of paper to one Doctor Bruce Banner. I know he works for you._

_To Dr. B, Hey, sorry I acidentally took this with me when I swung off. I didn't realize until I got ~~home~~ to my secret base. Sorry about that._

_Hope I run into you again._

The note was unsigned, but the ribbon was all the clue he needed. He twisted it around in his fingers. _'Perhaps Dummy would like a bow.'_


	7. Hulk and Peter

The next time it was Peter who met Hulk. Some mad scientist had attacked the city, again. Unfortunately, his last suit had gotten torn badly enough that he needed a new one, so he had agreed to go with MJ to photograph the scene. They had tried to get closer to the fighting when Peter had tripped over a faded gray bookbag with a torn strap.

It had a note pinned to it.

_Hulk,_

_I would appreciate it if you didn't lose this as it contains my notes for the project I'm working on._

_Thanks_

Peter frowned, getting off the ground and straightening his pants. _I think I've seen this handwriting before..._

"Should we return it to Hulk?" MJ said, picking it up with both hands. "It looks like it's important."

Peter held out a hand. "I'll take it. It shouldn't be hard to find him." He gestured to the far west where orange light and the sounds of roaring could be heard.

"I'll come with you." MJ's hand tightened on the bag. Peter shook his head and pried her fingers loose from the strap. He knotted the strap and then slung the bag over his shoulder and indicated the camera around her neck. 

"You told me he doesn't like camera's remember?" And before she could answer, he was gone.

 

The sounds of fighting got louder as he got closer. The crowds got thicker too, the people moving slowly away from the scene. Several of them stopped to take pictures and Peter had to weave his way slowy around them.

There was one last screech and then a still silence fell over this part of the city. Peter ducked under the police tape and hid behind a police car. He peeked over the edge of the car and spotted Hulk.

Hulk was an easy one to spot. He was in the middle of a shallow crater, standing over someone who Peter persumed was the guy who started this whole mess. Hulk growled at the guy and stepped out of the way as Shield agents moved forward and hauled the guy upright. They cuffed him and let him to a transport that would take him to the Helicarrier hovering overhead.

Hulk grunted as he saw the transport lift off and reached up to touch his left shoulder. His fingers clutched at his shoulder has he looked downwards and then around the scene. Slowly, Peter moved out from behind the police car.

"Um...Mr. Hulk" he called, slowly moving closer. "I think this belongs to you." He removed the bag and held it out. Hulk turned and gently took the bag from his hand.

"Thanks" he said "Other guy will be happy."

Peter blinked. "Who's Other guy?"

Hulk shrugged and made a gesture that Peter couldn't interpret.

"Other guy is other guy." He said. "Hulk is Hulk."

He clutched the bag in both hands and gave Peter a smile. "Blue boy is nice. Be Hulk's friend?"

Peter stared at him. "Blue boy?"

Hulk pointed at his shirt; it was blue.

Peter looked down. "Oh..."

"Friend?"

Peter shrugged. "Sure...um...how does this work exactly?"

Hulk shifted the bag to one hand and patted Peter on the head with the other. "Friend mean Hulk not smash. It not polite."

"Okayy then." He held out right hand. "Friends"

Hulk took it and carefully shook it. Peter's smile got wider. _Wait 'til I tell MJ._

* * *

_ _


	8. Another piece of the puzzle

The next time Peter ran into Bruce, he was waiting for Sam and Luke. He had arrived at the cafe a bit early and had spotted Bruce.

"Hey, Doctor B." He said as he made his way over. He stopped at the table and quickly masked his surprise. Bruce had a large piece of paper spread out in front of him and was scribbling equations in what little space there was in the margins. The rest of it was covered in molecular structures. Beside him, sat a familiar gray bag. It's strap was still knotted. _I've seen that bag before, with Hulk. What's it doing with Doctor B?_

"Hey Peter" Bruce looked up and smiled at him. He rolled the paper up and indicated the seat across from him. "Sit"

Peter dropped into the seat and grinned at him. "Should you _really_ be working on that where anyone can see you?"

Bruce shrugged. "It's not like anyone around here can understand it."

"You never know doc, anyone of them could be a genius or a supervillian."

Bruce opened the bag and tucked the sheet away. "Those two aren't mutually exclusive you know."

"True"

"So, how are you?" Bruce signaled the waitress. She hurried over and they both gave their orders. Tea for Bruce as usual and an espresso for Peter.

"I've got a study session today with some friends. We're meeting up here." Peter said in response to Bruce's look.

"It's not for Spanish is it?" Peter laughed and got a textbook out of his backpack. He zipped the bag up and placed it beneath the table. "Not this time. It's Physics actually." He paused and then gestured to the gray bag. "You know, I've seen that bag around before."

"Yeah" Bruce smirked and flipped open Peter's textbook. "Where?"

"Hulk had it. He said it was the other guy's." Peter made air quotes in the air. "He also called me Blue Boy" he added and took the textbook back from Bruce. He opened it up to a specific chapter and handed it back. "Here, that's the one we need to know for the quiz tomorrow."

Bruce took it and frowned at the chapter. "Wow, I feel old now. I don't know if I remember any of this. It's not really my field of study."

"It's ok. Luke's pretty good with this stuff. Sam and I begged him to help us study. So," Peter said, pointing at the gray bag again, "what're you doing with that?"

Bruce blinked at it. "It's mine." He said, confused.

"Hulk had one exactly like it though! That can't be a coincidence."

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you."

Peter sighed. "It's a mystery" he agreed.

Bruce gave him a nod and the waitress came over with their drinks. "So," Bruce said, after she had left, "explain this chapter to me."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Peter starts noticing the little details now.


	9. Bruce

Bruce was having a terrible day. His head hurt, there was a large stain on his favorite sweater and to make matters worse Betty had invited him to her wedding. Not that he wasn't happy for Betty, but it hurt. He was sitting against a brick wall, bag by his side, trying to take deep breaths.

His mind spun and something sharp and vicious growled in his head. _You can't help with this,_ he thought to it. _This isn't something you can smash._ The growl grew louder and he clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Doctor B?" Peter's voice came from in front of him.

He didn't look up and instead tightened his hands. "Not now, Peter" he said, "it's a bad time."

"Are you ok?" He could feel Peter sit down next to him and he flinched.

"Go away," he said. " _Please_ , Peter"

There was a thump and then an exhale.

"What happened?"

He shoved himself up to his feet and grabbed his bag. "Stay _away_ " The pounding in his head intensified and he was sure his eyes had gone green.

"Wha- doc!" Peter got to his feet, swinging his backpack over his shoulders.

"I can't...I have to go...sorry" He blurted and ran, doging people as he went.

He could feel his skin going green and it was getting harder to run. He threw himself into a nearby alley, set the bag down and curled up, battling against the transformation.

Eventually, after hours, the feeling reeceded, leaving him lying on the ground shuddering. He picked himself up, swaying a little. He'd have to let Hulk out when he got home, but for that he first had to make his way home. He picked up his bag and headed for the tower, stumbling as he walked.

_Damn, that was a mess._


	10. Bruce and Spiderman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Peter nearly gives away his secret identity and Bruce is too tired to notice.

It was sunset when something smacked into the 90th floor of the tower. Bruce was on the roof when J.A.R.V.I.S flashed the alert.

"Er...should I go check it out?" He set down his mug.

"No, need Doctor Banner," J.A.R.V.I.S replied. "It's heading your way. I believe it is the vigalante known as Spiderman."

There was thwack as a white string of webbing attactched itself to the edge of the roof and Spiderman swung up and over the rooftop ledge, crashing into a potted plant. He sat up, spitting dirt out. "Blech" He said, grabbing the mug, partially lifting up his mask and drinking the contents. "Ah, that's better."

"That was my mug" Bruce said mildly, righting the plant. It was undamaged, but it had lost a little bit of dirt.

"Sorry" He didn't sound sorry, but Bruce didn't mind too much. "I forgot how tall this building was."

Bruce made a noise of inquiry and stuck out a hand to help him up. Spiderman took it and Bruce tugged him to his feet.

"Thanks, you're stronger than you look doc. Anyway, I was swinging through the city and I attatched a strand of webbing to the tower. I must have missed the roof edge by a couple of floors."

"You did" Bruce confirmed. "You're not hurt?"

Spiderman stretched and shook out his legs. "Nah, I'll just have bruises." He scrutinized Bruce. "You ok? You look tired."

Bruce shrugged and moved to set on the roof ledge. His legs dangled over the side. "It's been a long few weeks."

Spiderman moved to sit down next to him. "Wanna talk about it?"

Bruce twisted his fingers together, interlocking them and bringing them up to his mouth. He huffed. "Wouldn't hurt, I guess."

Spiderman shifted a little and turned to face him. "Well?"

Bruce stared out, onto the skyline. Night was falling and the city was starting to light up, slowly in some places and rapildy in others.

"I owe someone an apology," he said at last, "except I don't really want to run into them."

"It's that Parker kid isn't it?" Behind the mask Spiderman's eyes widened. _Shit! I just gave him my last name!_

Bruce blinked. "Who?"

_No, help for it now Parker. The damage is done._ "Peter Parker, you know, that kid you keep running into?"

Bruce frowned at him. "And _how_ do you know that?"

_Er...think Parker, think!_ "He handles my tech." _Arrgh! Why did I say that? He's not going to believe that!_

Already, Bruce was frowning at him. "If you say so," he said, doubtfully.

"Anyway" Spiderman waved a hand in the air "He's been complaining about not running into you and he was worried, so I thought I'd come check up on you." He scrutinized Bruce. "Do you look thinner?"

Bruce chuckled. "I'm fine. I just...that was a really bad day for me...it happens."

"If you say so" Spiderman said, dubiously. "You gonna talk to him?"

"If I run into him again" Bruce said in answer."

"I can give you his number if you want" _Oh, god, why did I blurt that out? What's wrong with me?! Parker you idiot!_

"...that's not necessary..."

"Alright then" Spiderman stood and fired off a strand of webbing downwards to the nearest building. "I gotta go patrol the city. See ya around doc!" He stepped off the ledge and swung away.

Bruce watched him go, absently picking up the mug. "Well that was odd"

"Indeed" J.A.R.V.I.S. said and Bruce jumped. "Apologies" J.A.R.V.I.S added and Bruce glared in the direction of the nearest camera.


	11. The Laptop (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hulk breaks Bruce's laptop.

The next time Spiderman met Hulk he was staring down at the remains of a very familiar laptop.

"Hey Hulk, what's going on?" Spiderman hopped onto a nearby fire escape and peered at the laptop. _That looks like Dr. B's..._

"Hulk smash laptop." Hulk said sadly. He gently scooped up the pieces.

"Didn't you have a bag for that?"

Hulk shook his head. "Bag gone. Hulk need to get data. Is drive intact?" He handed the laptop to Spiderman.

Spiderman took it and held it up in the air.

Hulk growled. "Bug man be careful"

Spiderman gently set down the laptop and took out a small, slim phone. He flipped it open and dialed. "Hey, Iron Fist, I need you."

He covered the phone with one hand and looked back at Hulk. "Where are we?"

Hulk shrugged. "Alleway" he said.

"Yeah" Spiderman turned back to the phone "we don't know where we are"

"Can see tower" Hulk added, pointing at it.

The A was faintly visible from the alleway. Spiderman shrugged, still talking into the phone. "We're close to the tower, that's all I know. Hulk needs his laptop fixed."

He hung up and turned back to Hulk. "He'll be here in a few" he said, tucking the phone away and sitting down on the fire escape. "So, smashed anything interesting lately?"

 

A half an hour later, Iron Fist came walking up to them. He had a green book bag with him and he set it down on the concrete before looking up.

"What took you so long," Spiderman said, flipping off the fire escape to land in front of him.

"A place for everything and everything in it's place" Iron Fist said, "you were not in your proper places."

"...I don't get it" Spiderman said after a long pause.

"Hulk confused" Hulk added. "Can yellow-green fix laptop?"

"Where is it?" Iron Fist looked around.

Spiderman vaulted back up to the fire escape, grabbed the laptop and handed it to Hulk. Then, he leapt back down to the ground again. Iron Fist held out both hands and Hulk gently placed the laptop in it.

He closed his fingers around it and gently turned it over. There was a large crack in the screen and a chunk of the keyboard seemed to be missing, but the hard drive looked intact.He shook his head.

"All things must pass," he said eventually. "I can't fix this, but I can retreive the data. The hard drive doesn't look like it was damaged."

Hulk drooped. "Other Guy will be upset" he said sadly.

"You should apologize" Iron Fist said, "peferably in person."

If possible, Hulk drooped further. "It doesn't work like that. Hulk _can't_ "

"Give him flowers?" Spiderman suggested, patting Hulk on the arm. "Cheer up buddy, you'll think of something."

"Come" Iron Fist said, "let us get the data for you."

He opened his bag and tucked the laptop inside, then zipped it up and slung it over his left shoulder.

"Tower voice can get data," Hulk said. He pushed them gently in the direction of the tower.

"Let's go" Spiderman said, taking to the skies and swinging ahead. "I'll meet you at the tower" he yelled.

Hulk roared, grabbed Iron Fist and bounded after him.

* * *


	12. Bread and Flowers (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hulk and Spiderman gather materials for an apology.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This follows directly on from The Laptop.

At four in the afternoon, Hulk and Spiderman walked into Breads Bakery on 16th street. Immediately, all eyes were on them. Spiderman waved at the customers as the approached the counter and a few of them smiled back.

"Can I help you?" said the cashier.

"Hulk want the chocolate babka."

"How many loaves?" The cashier walked to the display case and took out a loaf. Hulk looked at Spiderman, who shrugged.

"You know what he likes" he said, examining the pastries.

"One is good" Hulk rumbled.

"Alright" the cashier rang up the total and Spiderman whistled.

"That is one expensive loaf." he said. "

Hulk not really like it, but it Other Guy's favorite. It part of apology." Hulk tapped the silver bracelet on his left wrist and a barcode popped up. The cashier scanned it and handed him the bag.

"Have a good day," she said as they walked out. Spiderman waved back at her and turned to Hulk. "Where to next?"

 

 

Their next stop was a florist's, where Hulk picked up a boquet of hyacinths and tiger lilies.

"Hyacinths are for apology. Other Guy likes tiger lilies." Hulk said, gently picking up the boquet.

Behind the mask, Spiderman gaped. _Who know the Hulk was a sensitive guy?_

"I'm sure he'll like them" he said aloud.

Hulk stoped and looked at Spiderman anxiously. "Apology not good?"

Spiderman shook his head. "No, no," he said hastily, "it's great. Really great! Man, I wish people would apologize to me like this."

Hulk just looked confused.

"So," Spiderman said, "you got everything you need?"

"Bug man have pen?"

"Luckily for you" Spiderman pulled out a pen from his pocket and handed it to Hulk.

Hulk took out a large blank card from inside the boquet, careful not to disturb any of the flowers and handed the boquet to Spiderman.

"Hold" he grunted and frowned at the pen.

"Ah, here" Spiderman shifted the boquet to his left hand and after a moment, opened the bread bag and stuck it in. He took the pen from Hulk, uncapped it and handed it back. Hulk stepped up to a wall and scribbled the on the card. He handed it to Spiderman after it was done.

It read, in large and shaky letters:

_Other Guy,_

_Hulk broke laptop._

_Hulk sorry._

_Here apology._

_Forgive Hulk?_

Spiderman tucked the card inside the boquet. "Come on," he said, "let's go get that drive from Iron Fist."


	13. Bruce and Peter (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce gets the apology and runs into Peter again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last and final part of the laptop saga as I'm calling it. This follows directly from The Laptop and Bread and Flowers.

The next day when Bruce walked into his lab, the first thing he saw the busted laptop on one of the tables. Next to it was a shiny hard drive, a loaf of bread and a vase full of flowers. On the laptop was a note. Bruce picked it up and chuckled.

He plugged the hard drive in to a port on the side of the table and tapped through the files. Everything seemed to be there. He tapped an icon on the screen and a red light started blinking. He cleared his throat and looked at the screen in front of him.

"Hey Hulk" he said "I got your apology. Don't worry about it, accidents happen. I'll just have to hasten my work on durable material. Do you mind if I ask you to test it for me. You'll have to wear that protective gear that Tony made. I don't want you to get hurt." He gave the screen a serious look.

"I mean it Hulk," he said and gave the screen a smile. "Thanks again. I know you don't like the bread that you got. So, thanks."

He tapped the icon again and the screen went dark, hovering in the air. It would remain there until the next time he Hulked out, then it would light up and play the message.

 

"...and he brought me flowers" Bruce finished. He and Peter were walking down the street. They had run into each other at the same library where they had first met.

"Wow," Peter said, "all that for breaking your laptop."

"Yeah, well, it had all my resarch on there. I'm just glad that the data managed to be retreived."

"That's good" Peter said. _This is sounding awfully familiar._

"Yeah. It was a suprise, but I'm glad that our relationship's gotten to the stage where we can do things like that for each other." He smiled, sad and happy all at one.

"That's great doc! You know I had a friend who had almost the same exact situation happen to him."

"Really?" Bruce stopped and gave him an incredulos look.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, except he was with the guy who broke the laptop. He's a bit clumsy with his..." _How the heck do I describe the Other Guy?_ "friend" he said finally.

Bruce arched an eyebrow and continued looking at him with the same look.

"I-I don't know how to label relationship....I mean _my friend_ doesn't know how to classify their relationship. It's pretty complex he said."

"Ok" Peter winced at the amount of skeptiscism in Bruce's tone. _You could have handled that better Parker._

Eventually, they stopped at an intersection.

"Well, I go this way" Peter said, pointing to the left. "It was good seeing you doc."

"It was good seeing you too." Bruce replied. "I hope we run into each other again."

Peter paused and turned back to Bruce. "You know doc," he said, "we could always just exchange contact info."

Bruce shrugged. "It's more fun to run into you. And we _do_ seem to run into each other a lot."

"Yeah, small world." Peter scratched the back of his head. _After all, it's not like I can tell you that I keep an eye out for you whenever I swing through the city._ That got a chuckle out of Bruce and they parted ways.


	14. Bruce meets Nova

The next time Spiderman met Bruce, he was in the midst of chasing a giant rabbit with eyes that shot lasers. Spiderman webbed the rabbit before it crashed into Bruce. Luckily, he had webbed the eyes, so the rabbit couldn't hurt him.

"Sorry, doc" he said, pushing the rabbit off and tugging Bruce up. "Didn't see you there."

"It's ok" Bruce said, dusting himself off.

"Rabbits," Nova moaned, landing next to them. "Why did it have to be rabbits?" His breathing was unstead and he looked a little pale from what Bruce could see of him.

"You ok man?" Spiderman said, "You look kinda pale."

"Rabbits" Nova said again and slumped against the wall of a nearby building. He took a few deep breaths and clenched his hands. He slid down the wall and brought his knees up to his chest. "I hate rabbits."

"Yeah, these weren't the cute, cuddly type." Spiderman said. Bruce gave him a look that said, _you're not helping, stop._ Spiderman held up his hands and backed away. Bruce knelt next to Nova and took his right wrist, placing his first two fingers on the middle of the wrist, right where the vein was.

"What're you _doing_?" Nova tried to pull away. Bruce just placed his other hand on Nova's arm and smiled.

"Don't worry, I've done this before. I'm just taking your pulse."

" _Why_ "

"You look a little pale," Bruce said and sat down in front of him. Nova shook a little and Bruce tightened his hand a bit.

"Hey, focus on me" he said, calmly. Nova looked at him and Bruce breathed in. He let it out, long and slow.

"Breathe with me, ok?" Nova nodded and took a breath. Bruce nodded at him.

"Good" he said, "now, let it out slowy, in increments." Nova did so and slowly, his breathing returned to normal. Bruce offered him a hand up and he took it.

"Thanks," he said, looking away from Bruce.

"Not a problem" Bruce said, looking at the watch on his wrist. "I should be heading back to the tower. Tony'll be worried." Just then, his phone rang and he took it out of his jacket pocket. Tony's ID was on the screen. He swiped the end call button and turned back to Nova.

"You'll be ok?"

Nova nodded.

"Thanks...doc" He stretched his arms out in front of him and took to the sky.

"That's my cue" Spiderman said, shooting a strand of webbing at the roof of the nearest building. "I'll run into you again." He waved as he swung up. Bruce smiled, shook his head and turned back to his phone. He swiped it open and hit speed dial.

"Hey Tony," he said, once it connected, "I'm fine. I'm heading back to the tower now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by a headcannon on Tumblr that I currently cannot find. If it's yours, let me know and I'll link you.
> 
> *Update* It's [this](http://ontinetine.tumblr.com/post/72032414151/bruce-gets-a-handle-on-the-other-guy-and-then-he) headcanon by [ontinetine](http://ontinetine.tumblr.com/).


	15. The Science Convention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony takes Bruce to a science convention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by [this headcanon](http://avengersheadcanons.tumblr.com/post/72245627095/tony-dragged-bruce-along-to-a-science-convention) over at avengersheadcanons.

Tony was bored. Ok, that was a lie. Tony was frustrated. He had gotten Bruce to come along to this conference so that they could be awesome together and Bruce coud meet other scientists.

However, a few minutes after they had gotten here, Bruce had run into that kid he kept running into, P-something. It was almost like the kid was stalking him or something. Tony hoped that wasn't the case, the kid seemed ok.

But, regardless, they had struck up a conversation immediately, about nuclear biology or something like that. Whatever it was, it was not cooler than talking about the suit, which he had hoped to do with Bruce today and now he was just wandering the exhibits, most of which he could think of fifty ways to improve.

Eventually, towards the end of the conference, he had gotten bored enough to bother J.A.R.V.I.S.

_How's the new paint job coming along Jar?_

_If you stopped texting me every 1.3 seconds sir, it would be done already._

_What? You can't multitask? Shall, I donate you the art museum then?_

_I am not decoration, sir. My processes are tied up in far more important tasks._

Tony huffed and frowned at the screen.

_The suit's not important enough? What're you doing, Sudoku?_

The phone buzzed, but Tony didn't bother reading J.A.R.V.I.S's reply. Bruce and the kid were walking towards him. He stepped away from the wall, into their path and smiled broadly.

"Aww, you missed me already, eh Bruce?"

Bruce smiled at him. "No, the conference is ending. It's time to go back." He turned to Peter and gave him a piece of paper. "I enjoyed discussing mutations with you. Um...text me if you think of anything new and we can grab coffee or something?" 

he kid nodded, scrawled something on a scrap of paper and thrust it at Bruce. "Er...here's mine. It was great running into you again. Coffee sounds good...um...I'll let you know when."

They stood around, awkwardly. Finally, Tony grinned and slung an arm around Bruce. "Awesome, buddy, you got yourself a date!"

The look on their faces was worth the week of his lab interfaces being in old Norse runes. It was  _not_  worth the damage that came from having Thor decipher those runes.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony is a hard person to write. And Bruce and Peter finally exchanged numbers!


	16. Bruce, Peter and Coulson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson runs into Bruce and Peter.

"I'm glad she's happy, but it's just weird you know. He's the school principal." Peter nearly knocked his cup over. Luckily, Bruce nudged it out of his way.

"That does sound awkward" he agreed, taking a sip of his own cup; green tea this time. They had met up to talk about science, but had started talking about other topics instead.

"I'm glad she's going out with him though. She's always seemed lonely after Uncle Ben..." Pete sighs and takes a sip of his cup. He makes a face. "Why did I order this again? It's way to sweet."

"You wanted the marshmallows" Bruce said, tapping his fingers on the side of his own.

"Parker? Banner?" A voice says from above them. "You two know each other?"

They look up; it's Coulson standing there, in his typical suit and tie, staring at them with a look of surprise.

"We run into each other occasionally," Bruce said warily. He looks tense all of a sudden, fingers tightening on his cup.

Peter looks between them and clears his throat. "How do you know my school principal Dr. B?"

If possible, Coulson looks even more startled by the nickname. Then, his eyes narrow as he looks between them.

"I consult on his other job" Bruce said carefully.

"How do you _do_ that?" Peter said out loud. Bruce blinked at him.

"What?" "The thing with the air quotes" Peter made them in the air. "You do that with _just_ your voice. You _have_ to teach me. Anyway, what's this other job you're talking about? Is it S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Coulson flat out glared at him and Bruce startled.

"You know about S.H.I.E.L.D?" He said, incredulously. "

Er...yeah! They're trying to recruit me, for science stuff!" Peter backtracked quickly and Coulson's glare lets up slightly.

"You do show promise" Bruce agreed. "But why is he your school principal?"

Both of them looked at Coulson, who smirked. "Someone needs to keep an eye on the next generation."

"If you say so" Bruce shrugged. He drained his cup and stood up, picking up his bag from the ground. "Well, I have to get back to work. It was nice seeing you again Peter, sir"

Peter gave him a wave. "See ya doc!" He turned back to Coulson, who raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Peter said. "He's nice, knows his science and he doesn't care if I run off mid-conversation. And did I mention he doesn't seem to be trying to kill me?"

Coulson sighed. "Just be careful" he said "and whatever you do, don't make him angry."

_Yeah, that's not cryptic at all._ "Chill out, we don't even know each other that well. We mostly talk about sciene."

Coulson frowned. "I'm serious Peter"

And yeah, he could see why there was cause for concern. He remembered that time that Bruce had been so upset that his eyes had changed color and wasn't that the strangest thing?

"I'll be careful" Peter said. _There's a mystery here and I wanna find out what it is._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we get a bit more movement on the "Peter and Bruce start to figure out that they're both superheros" thing.


	17. The Call (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Peter get a text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of the part where Peter and Bruce find out each other's secret identities. This means that the fic will, unfortunately, be ending soon.

The next time they met, both of their phones buzzed at the same time. Bruce quirked a smile at him.

"I guess we won't get to talk about gamma now. S.H.I.E.L.D. called me in." He said, getting up from the table.

Peter nodded. "It's classified?"

He wasn't too surprised. This seemed to happen every other week or so; one of them would always run out on the other. Weirdly, Bruce didn't seem to mind. Peter knew he didn't.

Bruce nodded. "Yeah, sorry."

Peter shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Aunt May needs me back at home anyway." He grabbed his backpack and got up too.

"How's she doing?" Bruce said, as they headed out.

"Better, but I'm still a bit worried."

They parted ways at the corner. Both ducking into nearby alleyways.

Peter slipping out of his clothes and pulling his mask on, shooting webbing at the roof of adjacent building and swinging up. He set the backpack down and checked his phone. There was a commotion a few streets over. He shot another strand of webbing at another building, heading east.

Meanwhile, Bruce unbuttoned his shirt, slipped it off and folded it neatly on the ground. He opened his bag and pulled out a notepad. He wrote Hulk a brief note, asking him to get the clothes when everything was over and he felt like changing back. Then he closed the bag and placed the shirt on top of it, the note going on last.

Then, he straightened up. Luckily, Tony and Dr. Richards had made him an entire wardrobe of stretchable pants a few weeks back, so he didn't have to take those off too. He closed his eyes, sinking down into that place where he ended and Hulk began. _Your turn now_

Hulk blinked and picked up the note lying on the bag. By this time, screaming could be heard from the east. He grunted, set the note back down, picked up the items and set them on a nearby fire escape. He'd make sure to come back to them later. Then, he turned and headed in the direction of the screams.

* * *


	18. The Battle (Part 2)

The battle was a long one. The other Avengers had gotten called in too. Spiderman's team was already there.

Power Man lifting large chunks of debris and throwing it at the cuttlefish like robots that were attacking. Nova, Hawkeye and Iron Man were providing aerial support, calling out patterns and movements as they saw them. White Tiger and Iron Fist were protecting a group of civilians that had taken shelter under a crumbling building.

Black Widow and Captain America were fighting back to back while Thor called down lightning. Spiderman was making sure that the fallen robots stayed down and Hulk just roared in, swinging his fists at every robot that dared to get in his way.

"About time Hulk" Iron Man said, blasting a particularly large robot that had gotten too close. "Where were you?"

Hulk smashed another robot. "Made sure Other Guy's stuff was safe." He said, picking up a large chunk of building and hurling it at a robot that was behind Spiderman.

"Thanks man," Spiderman said, as he returned the favor, webbing up a robot that was creeping up behind Hulk.

"Bug Man be careful" Hulk said, plucking a robot out of the sky and throwing it a large cluster of them.

"Anyone know where these things are coming from?" Captain America yelled as he and Black Widow blocked one of the exits off that particular section. An arrow thudded to the ground in front of them and ignited, sealing off that particular exit. "Thanks Hawkeye, we have to keep them contained."

"I'm working on how to shut them down" Iron Man's voice said over their comm system. "It would be easier if I had someone smart to help me."

"Need Other Guy?"

"Not if absolutely necessary," Captain America said, "you're of better help right now."

"Um...I know a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D" Spiderman said, "maybe he could take a look?"

"Great" Iron Man said, "what's his name?"

Just then, Hulk sent a robot skidding past Iron Man, causing him to have to abruptly shift his trajectory to avoid crashing into a building. There wasn't anymore talking for a few minutes, until Hulk abruptly sat down behind a large pile of debris.

"Whoa, big guy, what're you doing?" Iron Man landed next to him and Spiderman followed.

"Team need Other Guy. Robots too dangerous. Need to be shut down."

"You sure about this big green?" Hulk nodded. "Other Guy more useful now." He said and then turned to Spiderman, "Tell Other Guy that Hulk sorry. Hulk couldn't get bag." Spiderman nodded and Hulk closed his eyes and began to shrink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There'll be another two parts I think and then this fic is over.


	19. The Reveal (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what the title says.

_Oh_

Spiderman stared at the man in front of him. Doctor Bruce Banner was standing there, in a pair of black pants, swaying. Iron Man reached out a hand to steady him.

"Easy there buddy," he said, retracting the faceplate.

"Tony" Bruce blinked at him. "What's going on? The fight's not over yet."

"Yeah, I know" He handed him to Spiderman. "Hang on to him for a sec" he said, turning away from them and shutting the faceplate. "I'll go get one of those things for you to play with."

Spiderman looked at Bruce. Bruce looked back.

"Um...Hulk said he was sorry he couldn't get your bag." Spiderman said, looking around them. Gently, Bruce shook himself from Spiderman's hold. He still swayed a little, but he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and let it out.

"What do they need me to do?"

 

Later, much later after the battle and after they had picked up Bruce's stuff, Bruce and Spiderman found themselves across from each other in the kitchen of the tower. Bruce was sipping a cup of tea and Spiderman was tugging at his mask.

"Does it itch" Bruce asked, scrutinizing him.

"No...it's not that." Bruce put the cup down. "What is it?"

Spiderman sighed and let his hands drop. "You don't seem to worried about me knowing your secret." He said instead.

Bruce shrugged. "It was bound to come out sometime. At least you're not a civillian."

"About that..." Spiderman sighed and before he could think about it, pulled the mask off. There was long silence before Bruce broke it by picking up his cup and taking a sip.

"Ok," he said, "we're even?"

Peter laughed. "That's it?"

Bruce shrugged. "Things make more sense now. I had wondered why you weren't suprised."

"I guess it was all in the little details huh?" Peter said, "You were probably figuring it out too."

"I had expected to be more suprised" was all Bruce said. 

Peter nodded and then, a few moments later, "can we have a _proper_ relationship now? You know one where we actually text each other that we're running late because we have to go fight giant worms or something?"

Bruce choked on his sip of tea. "Careful," he said, "we don't want to jinx it. But, yes, it'll make things easier."

"Great" Peter grinned and pulled out his phone, sending out a text. "You have to meet my team."

Bruce blinked. "What? Peter, I don't-" Peter moved forward, slung an arm around Bruce's shoulders and steered him out the door.

"It'll be fine," he said. "They've all been wanting to meet you anyway."

 _What have I gotten us into?_ Bruce thought to Hulk as Peter pushed him into the elevator. Hulk couldn't reply yet, but he got a sense of amused contentedness. Bruce smiled at it. _Ok, then._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for this fic. Sorry about the ending, I'm terrible at them. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
